Tamil Canadians salute Canada for standing up on Human rights in Sri Lanka

[ TCNR ] - [ Apr 05, 2012 12:08 GMT ]

Tamil Canadians gathered in hundreds on Parliament Hill on Monday, April 2nd to thank the Canadian government for its efforts in championing human rights for the relatives of Tamil Canadians in Sri Lanka.

Specifically the community gathers to thank the personal efforts of both Prime Minister Harper and Foreign Minister Baird along with many members of the Conservative, NDP and Liberal caucuses who have championed this issue.

Also the community notes the active involvement of the government in a key issue for the community as an indicator that Prime Minister Harper and Minister Baird embody the tradition of caring for human rights of their relatives that was commenced by former Prime Minister Mulroney when he welcomed members of our community to Canada
The Community also offers thanks to ordinary Canadians, and human rights organizations along with members of the media who have continued to highlight the ongoing violations of human rights in Sri Lanka.

Over 30 prominent members of parliament from the all three main parties, step out of the parliament and address the crowd and urged for an independent international investigation in Sri Lanka.

Also Tamil Canadian delegations met with 15 Ambassadors and their staffs in Ottawa to hand over the letter of appreciation to their head of state for their recent decision to stand with the United States of Americas and Canada's resolution on Sri Lanka at the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva
The appreciation Note pass by the Tamil Canadians at the gathering read as follow,
An appreciation Note by Canadian Tamils:
The report of the UN Secretary General’s panel of experts on accountability in Sri Lanka confirmed that over 40,000 civilians were killed in Sri Lanka in 2009. Many of them were relatives of Tamil Canadians.
Canada continuously calls for an independent investigation into the credible and serious allegations in Sri Lanka. It also calls the Government of Sri Lanka to demonstrate the principles of freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and meaningful attempts at reconciliation.
Today, we have gathered here to thank the personal efforts of Prime Minister Harper, Foreign Minister Baird, our Members of Parliament, our fellow Canadians and human rights organizations along with members of the media who have continued to highlight the ongoing serious violations of human rights in Sri Lanka and the urgent need for accountability and reconciliation for our remaining relatives.